Target $59
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
EPA Toughens Air-Quality Standards, Drawing Protests From Industry Groups
EPA on Wednesday unveiled stronger air quality standards that impose new limits on fine particle pollution widely known as soot, angering industry groups.
Both the American Petroleum Institute and the National Association of Manufacturers said the decision would hit the economy hard and promised to consider "all options" to reverse it.
The EPA's final rule requires the lowering of the annual soot level to 9 micrograms per cubic meter of air from the current level of 12 micrograms.
The agency said in a news release that the rule will prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost workdays, yielding up to $46 billion in net health benefits in 2032.
"This final air quality standard will save lives and make all people healthier, especially within America's most vulnerable and overburdened communities," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said.
API said the country's air quality has significantly improved under the existing standards, thanks to cleaner fuels, advanced technologies and industry actions.
"Today's announcement is the latest in a growing list of short-sighted policy actions that have no scientific basis and prioritize foreign energy and manufacturing from unstable regions of the world over American jobs, manufacturing, and national security," the trade group said. "As we review the final standard, we will consider all our options."
The group, which represents all segments of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry, also said that the majority of current PM2.5 emissions (particles that are 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter) originate from non-point sources such as wildfires and road dust, while industrial sources account for less than 7%.
Jay Timmons, chief executive of the National Association of Manufacturers, also criticized the decision, saying it takes direct aim at manufacturing, investment and job creation in direct contradiction to President Joe Biden's stated goal of strengthening manufacturing in communities all across America.
The largest manufacturing association in the country, the group comprises small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector across the country.
"Manufacturers will consider all options to reverse this harmful and unnecessary standard, because it is our duty to stand against policies that hold our country back," Timmons said.
EPA said it finalized the new standards after considering extensive public input, including 700,000 written comments.
US Court Cancels Approvals for Widely Used Dicamba Weedkillers
A U.S. court has nullified the government's latest approvals of certain agricultural weedkillers sold by Bayer, BASF and Syngenta, fueling uncertainty among farmers who spray the products on soybeans and cotton genetically engineered to resist them.
Environmental activists cheered the court for halting use of the dicamba-based herbicides, which are known to drift away and damage crops that cannot tolerate the chemical.
Some farm groups and agribusinesses said the ruling, if enforced by the federal government, risks hurting farmers financially and reducing options for fighting weeds that are increasingly developing resistance to a limited number of herbicides.
U.S. District Court Judge David Bury in Arizona this week vacated the Environmental Protection Agency's registrations of dicamba-based weedkillers from 2020, saying the agency violated procedures mandating public input. The ruling affects Bayer's XtendiMax, BASF's Enginia and Sygnenta's Tavium, commonly used herbicides on U.S. farms.
Bayer soybeans that resist dicamba-based herbicide are the No. 2-most planted soybeans in the United States.
The companies said they disagreed with the ruling and were waiting for direction from the EPA. The EPA said it was reviewing the decision.
"Most soybean and cotton farmers have made seed and chemistry purchase decisions and, in some cases, are preparing to plant their 2024 crop in the coming weeks," BASF said. "This order may threaten the livelihoods of soybean and cotton farmers who rely on over-the-top dicamba to control resistant weeds."
The ruling bars farmers from spraying the dicamba products in the upcoming growing season unless the EPA allows already-shipped batches to be used, said Meredith Stevenson, staff attorney for the Center for Food Safety. The center called the decision "a vital victory for farmers and the environment."
In June 2020, a U.S. appeals court blocked dicamba-based herbicide sales and ruled the EPA understated risks related to its use.
The EPA, under former President Donald Trump, subsequently said farmers could use their existing supplies before it eventually reauthorized use again with new restrictions in October 2020.
Under President Joe Biden, the agency in December 2021 questioned whether dicamba weedkillers could be sprayed safely on soybeans and cotton without posing "unreasonable risks" to other crops.
West Pharmaceutical Services: Jefferies upgrades to buy from hold
price target raised from USD 323 to USD 536.
https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/WEST-PHARMACEUTICAL-SERVI-14917/
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated: Canaccord Genuity downgrades to hold from sell
price target reduced from USD 378 to USD 332.
https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/VERTEX-PHARMACEUTICALS-IN-11321/
Stryker Corporation: Canaccord Genuity downgrades to hold from buy
price target reduced from USD 360 to USD 315
https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/STRYKER-CORPORATION-14536/
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